Origin of butter chicken: Daryaganj moves Delhi HC against Moti Mahal's alleged defamatory remarks

New Delhi: The legal dispute over who actually "invented" iconic Indian dishes butter chicken and dal makhani is heating up.

Weeks after the Delhi High Court decided to adjudicate the dispute between two Delhi-based restaurant chains Moti Mahal and Daryaganj, some alleged defamatory remarks are now at the centre of a savoury battle.

Daryaganj has moved the high court against certain alleged defamatory remarks made by the proprietors of Moti Mahal in a newspaper interview on the issue of the origin of "butter chicken".

However, the owners of Moti Mahal have asserted that the remarks in question were an "editorial perspective" and cannot be attributed to them.

The food fight entered the legal arena after the Moti Mahal owners had filed a lawsuit in January claiming that their predecessor Late Kundan Lal Gujral had "invented" butter chicken and dal makhani and accused Daryaganj of "misleading people" on the origin of the two dishes.

Justice Sanjeev Narula asked the proprietors of Moti Mahal to submit an affidavit, affirming their effort to distance themselves from the statement in articles that have been published.

In its application, Daryaganj has raised concerns regarding the "defamatory" statements in the article -- first published in the "Wall Street Journal" and then further circulated and replicated by other websites -- saying they cause substantial negative impact on the restaurant's reputation.

The statements, it has been alleged, not only disparaged their business but also prejudiced a fair adjudication on the lawsuit, and immediate corrective action should therefore be taken by the other side to retract and remove those.

The proprietors of Moti Mahal have sought to dissociate themselves from the remarks attributed to them, suggesting that the expressions found in the article were not reflective of their direct communications or intentions.

"Plaintiffs (Moti Mahal owners) are directed to submit an affidavit, elaborating on the assertions and affirming their effort to distance themselves from the disputed statement in the published articles. Let the same be filed within two weeks from today," Justice Narula said in a recent order.

For several years, the two restaurant chains have claimed that they "invented" butter chicken and dal makhani.

But in January Moti Mahal sued Daryaganj for taking the credit for the two popular dishes.

Moti Mahal's owners sought to restrain Daryaganj restaurants' proprietors from claiming that their predecessor, Late Kundan Lal Jaggi, was the inventor of these two dishes, which are now world famous, and from using the tagline "by the inventors of butter chicken and dal makhani" on its website www.daryaganj.com and various social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as in print and electronic media.

The high court had earlier issued a summons to the owners of Daryaganj and asked them to file a written statement in response to the suit.

In their suit, the Moti Mahal owners have claimed that it was their predecessor, Kundan Lal Gujral, who created the first tandoori chicken and later also went on to make butter chicken and dal makhani and brought it to India after Partition.

The counsel for Daryaganj restaurants have vehemently opposed the claims and contended that the suit was misconceived, baseless and lacking a cause of action. The counsel have argued that the defendants have not engaged in any false representation or claim, and the allegations made in the suit are far from the truth.

The matter would next be heard on May 29.

Inputs from PTI